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Madison’s chin lifted. “Not really. She was kind of a wannabe, if I’m being honest. We let her hang out with us because we felt sorry for her.”
“But you left such a lovely message on her Facebook page when she disappeared,” Kit said, feigning confusion. “You said that you’d love her forever. You begged her to come home.”
Madison shrugged. “Her mother was hanging around the school all the time, crying, asking us if we’d seen her. It got old. If Naomi had just come home, her mother would have stopped. But now the woman’s a drunk. My mom knows her. Mrs.Beckham used to be on the flower show committee at the country club, but she’s been too drunk to do anything for years. My mother’s had to pick up the slack. She’s the chair now.”
If there had been any compassion in Madison’s voice, Kit might have rethought her original impression, but there was none. Just derision. Which she’d likely heard and learned from her mother, the flower show committee chair.
Rich people could be so very irritating.
“We heard that Naomi did you all dirty before she disappeared,” Kit said, still pretending to be tentative.
“Oh, she did,” Madison said with a haughty nod. “Selfish bitch.”
Kit glanced at Mrs.Larkin, who appeared to be doing her best not to speak. She didn’t look happy with Madison.
Kit leaned in a little, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “What did she do?”
“Kept an audition all to herself,” Madison spat. “That is simply not done. Not if you want to stay on the right side of us.”
“Us?” Kit asked.
Madison rolled her eyes. “Our group. The drama kids. When she ran away, we figured good riddance. We didn’t need a backstabber like her hanging around.”
Kit nodded. “I can see how that would make you angry with her. Do you remember what the audition was for? Was it a play or a movie maybe?”
Madison shook her head. “It was for a scholarship.”
Kit barely managed to keep her eyes from widening. Partly because it was unexpected, and partly because she didn’t think a girl with Madison’s apparent wealth would be that interested in—or eligible for—a scholarship. Maybe Madison’s family wasn’t as wealthy as they appeared. “A scholarship to what?”
“The Orion School for the Performing Arts.”
Kit glanced at Larkin because the older woman had sucked in an audible breath. “The private high school downtown?”
“A very exclusive drama school downtown,” Larkin said. “Very expensive. They accept less than five percent of applicants.”
“More like less than one percent,” Madison corrected bitterly. “It’s nearly impossible to get an audition with their intake committee. They had an opening back then and Naomi heard about it. She should have told us. At least me. But she kept it a secret. None of us got to try out.” She scoffed. “Like Naomi would have gotten the spot anyway. She wasn’t that good.”
“How did you find out about the audition?” Kit asked, because this could be the break they’d been waiting for.
“I saw the form in her backpack.” Madison shrugged. “I needed her lipstick, so I went through her stuff.”
“Did she know you’d seen it?”
“Yeah, because I was mad. When I yelled at her, she told me that I’d had my chance with Avondale. That this was her chance.” Madison sat up straighter. “I... slapped her. I’m not proud of that. But I was angry.”
“What’s this about Avondale?” Larkin asked.
Nathan had mentioned the Avondale audition that morning, but Kit waited to see what Madison would say.
“There was an open audition for Avondale three years ago. It was in the fall. Naomi found out about it and told us. We went up to L.A.—me and Naomi and a few others. We all tried out and I got the callback. Not Naomi.” Madison jabbed herself with her finger. “Me. Naomi thought she was such a big deal because she got the Ariel role in Mermaid.” She scowled. “She wasn’t. And she sang off-key anyway,” she added in a grumble.
Wow, Kit thought, so happy that she was no longer a teenager.
“What happened with the Avondale role?” Larkin asked.
Madison’s scowl darkened. “They canceled the show and the opportunity was gone. Getting into the Orion School is huge. You can write your own ticket. Their graduates get Hollywood roles and sing on Broadway. That Naomi kept it to herself was...” She shook her head. “Selfish, like I said before.”
“Did you know who her contact was for the scholarship audition?” Kit asked.
